


Void

by WishingRoses



Series: Survival is Key [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Gen, I Hurt A Cinnamon Roll: The Story, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Episode s05e29-32 Change Your Mind, Pre-Steven Universe: the Movie, Steven needs a hug, it's gonna be a long road ahead of him
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:26:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22311712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishingRoses/pseuds/WishingRoses
Summary: In the fallout of a terrible mission gone wrong, Steven finds himself stranded on a distant, dangerous planet, with no way of getting back home. Lost in the far reaches of the universe eons away from his family, Steven must do all he can to survive alone.Even if that means going against aliens who are far more merciless than Gemkind ever was.*IN PROGRESS OF REWRITING*
Relationships: Steven Universe & Everyone
Series: Survival is Key [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1605973
Comments: 15
Kudos: 31





	Void

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Wish here! And welcome to the start of my very first series! I'm so excited to get started with this - I've been preparing ideas for weeks - and with the hiatus for Steven Universe: Future slowly driving us all into insanity I decided, why not post an all new, super long fic?  
> I hope you guys are ready. This will be a very long ride.
> 
> *EDIT: Yeah so looking back on this I decided it wasn't coming out as I intended so I'm rewriting it. It didn't meet my standards, which is a real shame as I had planned to have a good start with this :/   
> I plan on having the better version out by early March. I'm posting chapter two along with it. Sorry if this caused any inconvenience.*

_“The truth is, we rely on you. Your voice inspires us, binds us, reminds us why we promised to protect the planet.” -Garnet, to Steven - The Return_

  
  


_June 5, 2015_

_12: 06 p.m._

  
  


_“-We think they’re planning another attack.”_

Silence. Though the air is filled with a tense, weighted atmosphere, all is quiet on their end. Steven, staring straight into icy diamond eyes, can’t hear a single voice other than the one speaking from the device in his hands. 

And his hands are numb. He thinks if he were to shift them even a bit, the Diamond Communicator would fall from his grasp and tumble to the ground. 

_This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening._

_“All of our intel shows that they are planning an invasion to strike by sunfall tomorrow.”_ White Diamond states, her voice a dangerous chill, her stance rigid. She’s shaken, but she’s trying not to show it. “ _They’re bringing all of their forces; all the Gems that are on their side.”_

_I_ just _saved the universe. I_ just _saved Homeworld. I_ just _got my happy ending._

White’s disturbing message continues on, oblivious to the panic shaking her great grandson, and oblivious to the fear she’s struck through everyone else in the room. When her next words ring through the still, silent room, Steven feels like his heart had stopped. 

_“And we think they plan to attack the_ Earth _this time.”_

* * *

  
  


_June 5, 2015_

_2:24 p.m._

Far from the heavy silence that chilled the air only hours before, the beach house was suddenly full of a cacophony of noise. It was stuffed with people; all talking, all arguing, all _panicking_. Steven sat at the center of it all, huddled on the edge of the couch, watching his family rally for the best answer to their next big problem. 

“-All I’m saying is, we don’t know what to expect! They could have anything prepared! Any attack, any defense, any piece of unknown tech I might not know how to handle!” Peridot yelled from atop the coffee table. “We’re completely defenseless unless we know exactly what they’re planning - which we don’t!” 

Garnet rounds on her, a furious expression on her face. Peridot shrinks back. “I may not be able to see what they’ve got planned, but I do know that completely giving up and expecting the worst isn’t the way around this!” She growled. Then her expression softened. “What happened to the sure, confident Peridot we all know? Because from what I _can_ see, evacuating the entire planet only screams ‘cowardly’.

Peridot withers, and Steven catches her nervous green eyes flick his way. He tries his hardest to smile encouragingly at her, but even he had to admit, her plan did not sound wise. Besides. How were they supposed to be able to gather up every single living being on this planet anyway? Especially in only a day? Internally he winced; Peridot was so freaked out by this that she wasn’t thinking right. _Everyone_ was freaking out. A suddenly large group of new, rebellious Gems want to attack their home, after having destroyed dozens of other planets. Who wouldn’t be terrified? 

_Well, I’m not._ He thinks to himself. Earlier that day he might have been shocked and upset that everything he had done was falling apart but now, with some added thinking, he was holding out for hope. He and his family had defeated and changed the minds of the most powerful of Gemkind, the Diamonds themselves. They did it once, they can do it again. They just had to change some more minds. 

With this in mind, he turned to look at his entire family, preparing another ‘inspiration speech’ he was apparently so good at. Pearl was pacing around in circles with her Gem showing fast-moving images of what she was thinking about, Amethyst and Bismuth looming in the corner with battle-hungry looks on their faces, Garnet and Peridot suddenly knee-deep in a ‘don’t give up’ conversation, and Lapis and Connie sitting quietly beside him. Connie, the closest to him, gives him an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder when she sees he’s about to speak. 

He clears his throat. Instantly, everyone turns to him. Swallowing the uncomfortableness at once again having to be the sole voice of reason, he opens his mouth to speak. 

“Garnet’s right.” He says, watching out of the corner of his eye as the aforementioned Gem shoots Peridot a significant look. Steven resists the urge to roll his eyes, and carries on. 

“We can’t give up. We have to try and look for a better option. Peridot, I’m sorry, but if we leave and leave the Earth unprotected, we won’t have a home to go back to.” 

Peridot looks down and nods in silent agreement. Steven feels a pang in his chest when he sees the downcast look on her face. He knows she’s only trying to help, and maybe she’s going about it all wrong but at least she’s making an effort. 

He continues. 

“I know we’re all scared.” He looks around at everyone’s wide eyes and grim faces, and suppresses one of his own. “This may just be the worst thing we’ve faced since...since the last war, and what’s really bad is that we didn’t start it. _They_ did. And it may not be all of Homeworld we’re fighting, but they’re still a huge threat to us.” 

He feels himself tense up against his wishes as he says those words. But Connie’s hold on his shoulder = her presence alone, really - grounds and comforts him enough for him to get the strength he needs. So he sits up as tall as he can and says the words he’s been dying to say since White gave her message.

“We may not know what we’re in for, we may not know what they have planned, but we can’t let them get to us. The Earth is _our_ home, and we’ve always fought to protect it with everything we have. So we can’t give up. We can’t run away. We might not have long, but we still need to stand our ground and fight for this planet because _we’re_ it’s protectors! And..And-”

With a burst of intensity, a flash of determination and passion, he raises his fist and shouts proudly, 

“-Because _we_ are the Crystal Gems!” 

Cue yells of solid agreement. Steven smiles bright, surrounded by the renewed hope _his words alone_ brought. The change he sees from the stiff air of just a few seconds ago to this freer atmosphere was refreshing. And maybe a little overwhelming. But he certainly didn’t mind. 

Maybe everyone _was_ right, he thinks, as he watches Bismuth and Peridot leap into actions, preparing to begin their new plans of attack. Maybe he _is_ an inspiration. 

He watches as Pearl beams proudly down at him and retrieves a planning board from her gem. Connie and Lapis share a determined look and hop off the couch, going towards Bismuth and Peridot to help them with their work. He turns and there is Garnet, visor off, looking down at him with so much _pride_ and _love_. 

Steven relaxes back into the soft couch. Breathes a sigh of relief. In just a few short words, he managed to bring back the hope his family would need to defeat this new evil. In just a few sentences, he was able to lift their spirits again. And _gosh_ , does it feel good that he did. 

He can’t stop smiling as he sees the sparks of _life_ dance in his loved one’s eyes. 

His job - for now - is done.

* * *

_June 6, 2015_

_5: 17 a.m._

When he wakes up, on the day of the attack, his first thoughts aren’t, _‘oh gosh, this is it, it’s today.’_

No, it’s more of wondering _what the heck_ is making that strange noise, that just so happened to startle him awake at the crack of dawn. 

He winces, putting his hands to his ears, as he hears a rather loud drill-like sound cut through the once peaceful environment he so desperately wished to go back to. Suddenly frustrated and cranky - because he had been having an actual _good_ dream for once - he threw his covers over his head and huddled back underneath them, hoping the thick fabric would block out the unwanted sound. 

It did not. This time, and even louder noise pierced the air, and, finally done with trying to go back to sleep (as if _that’ll_ be happening now with _this_ in his ears) he jumps out of bed with a heavy sigh. The noise appeared to be coming from right outside, and he can guess, now that he’s a little more awake, that it’s from Bismuth and Peridot. 

_Why oh why can’t they just do it at the barn spot?_ He thinks miserably, shoving on his sandals and a light jacket and leaving his loft. _I need my sleep for today. Today’s important._

Yes, today is the day he and his family will make their stand against a new and rather terrifying group of radical Gems who want to destroy all life that doesn’t matter to them. He thinks he very much needs his sleep. 

Stepping out into the cool morning air, and rubbing away the last of the sleep from his eyes, he makes his way over to the two hard-at-work Gems. Peridot has her gem-tech out, screen and all, and is practically buried underneath all the machinery surrounding her. Bismuth is beside her, building away at whatever it is they were putting together. 

_They must have been working all night._ He thinks, as he sees the pinched looks on the two’s faces. _Which is completely understandable,_ he also thinks. _We only have one day._

Bismuth notices him first before he can say anything. “Steven!” She calls when her eyes lock onto his. “It’s still dark out - did we wake you up?” 

“Yeah,” He replies, but not wanting to sound rude adds, “but it’s okay.” _We only have one day,_ he thinks as he says it. _Honestly I_ should _be awake._

And suddenly he’s no longer upset at being woken up. 

“I already knew I couldn’t sleep in.” _Past seven, but this works too._ “Besides, now I can give you guys some more help!” He gestures to the half-finished machine, and Peridot still knee-deep in her work. 

Bismuth still looks apologetic, though. “Yeah, but still...You need all the sleep you can get today. Who knows what’ll happen out there?” She claps a very warm hand on his shoulder - she must have just plunged it in some lava - and hands him a wrench. “But if you’re sure you want to get to work _right away_ …” 

He takes the wrench with rising enthusiasm, which should be illegal this early in the morning but hey, work needs to be done. “Oh, I’m sure.” He says to the blacksmith. He turns towards the side of the large machine, to where the screws still need to be put in. 

As he begins tightening them in, he asks the rainbow-haired Gem a question. “What’s this machine gonna do, anyway?” 

Bismuth gives him a proud look and says, “Well…” 

As she explains, Steven’s eyes grow impossibly wide, and he looks back to the machine with a wonder-filled expression. 

“That...That sounds pretty amazing, Biz.” He says to her when she’s done talking. 

Bismuth grins back at him and slams a hammer-turned fist onto a loose steel side of the machine. 

“It does, doesn’t it?”

* * *

_June 6, 2015_

_4:12 p.m._

  
  


The air is cool and calm, a surprising thought due to the fact that he himself very much isn’t. He looks head towards the setting sun, watches as it casts its warm orange glow down onto the ocean. As he does, he once again hears White’s voice in his head, and her awful message. _By sunfall tomorrow._

It’s nearing sunfall. No, it _is_ sunfall. Dusk is approaching and along with it their enemies will arrive. Steven’s grip on the railing tightens and he has to take steadying breaths so as not to freak out then and there. He needs to remain calm, like the beach’s air around him. 

Bismuth had told him earlier that day that the machine she and Peridot were building was designed to attack gem technology - most notably any ships they might bring along with them. It was loosely based off of a Gem Destabilizer, in that it messes with the state of any physical object that was uniquely Gem. It would disrupt their machines, but wouldn’t harm the actual Gems. It was a perfect, pacifistic weapon. And they would fire it the moment the rebellion arrived. 

But still...it was hard to stay calm under the implications that anything could happen. And Garnet’s future vision was being repeatedly thrown off as well. Even with this fancy new machine, their enemies could have anything to counter any of their attacks. 

_“Even weapons that aren’t Gem-based!”_ Pearl had said when she heard of the machines’ plan. And wasn’t that a probability - that they were making something that could very well not do anything. 

They don’t even know how many Gems are _in_ this rebellion, much less what they’re bringing with them. It was just one of the hard things with war...You never know for sure what the enemy has waiting...Unless you have future vision but _that’s_ apparently down for the count. 

He hears steps from behind him, but he doesn’t turn around. He knows it’s Garnet because she doesn’t say a word, just stands beside him. Watching the sun set. 

Because of this, it’s him who says something first. “It’s..really something, isn’t it?” His voice is soft, and it’s carried by the breeze. He’s talking about the sunset, and though he has millions of other burning questions, for some reason this is the thing he says. 

But Garnet doesn’t seem to be bothered by his choice. She merely looks out to the ocean with him, and Steven is shocked to see a small smile on her face. She doesn’t turn to him when she says, “It is.” 

For a few moments after that, the porch is quiet as they stand watching the view. If Steven let himself relax, he might even trick himself into thinking that is all they were doing. 

His next words are much more relevant. “How many Gems do you think are in the rebellion?” It’s not exactly what he had been _dying_ to ask, but it’s close enough. 

Garnet responds with a hum of thought. Then, “Not in the thousands, and _definitely_ not in the hundreds. I’d say, close to sixty or seventy.” 

He still winces at that. “That’s still a lot,” He admits. “Even if with everyone we’ve got now that’s still..army sized.” Then he sighs. “Still, it’s awful that that many Gems joined this new ‘rebellion’. Even if it’s not as much compared to us.” 

This time, Garnet does turn to him. “Their numbers don’t mean anything compared to what we have, Steven.” She says, shooting him a significant look. 

He tilts his head, not understanding her. 

“They banded together because they were angry at the changed Homeworld went under. Some of them are furious at the Diamonds, and furious at us. Some of them still see themselves as Gems under ruling - and they don’t know what else to be. And some of them are scared. They’re afraid of these new changes and because of that, easily fell in line with this new rebellion.

“But you must understand, Steven. The alliance they share with each other is strained for many reasons. They’re a broken group, bound together by just one thing they have in common-” 

“-Their hate for us.” Steven finishes. It’s a solemn thing to say. That a radical group formed out of pure hate for him and his family. But isn’t that exactly what _they_ did to Homeworld as well? Pink Diamond definitely hated how things worked there long ago…

Garnet must have noticed his connection, because she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I haven’t finished quite yet. What I’m getting at is that of course they’re broken. They don’t understand each other. But we do.” 

He looks up at her. Garnet’s face shows none of the fear she projected during White’s message yesterday. “You said it yourself: we are the Crystal Gems. We’re a team, united by _everything_ we believe in.” 

His eyes widen. And he realizes just what the tall purple Gem is saying. 

“We’re a family, Steven. And as long as we’re guided by each other, nothing can tear us apart. Not even this new ‘rebellion’.”

* * *

_June 6, 2015_

_4: 24 p.m._

  
  


A speck in the sky breaks what little peace of mind Steven had had just a short while ago. Shaped like two circles stuck together, it edges closer and closer towards the Earth. Bringing along with it a small army of angry aliens. 

The machine Bismuth and Peridot made stood tall on the beach in front of Steven’s house. Laser side up, pointed directly towards the ship aiming right for them. Bismuth and Garnet are below it, holding it up to face wherever it needs to be. But not firing just yet. 

A portal opens up near him from where he’s standing by the porch stairs. Lion charges out of it, Connie on his back with her sword strapped to her bag. She hops off of Lion to run up to him. 

“I just finished getting everyone in the surrounding areas into the safehouses. Are you sure it’s time yet?” Then her attention is brought to where he’s still looking up, and she pauses. “Oh.” 

“It’s not close enough yet.” He says to her, when her gaze travels down to the machine. “We can’t fire until they reach the troposphere.” 

Connie nods. “And how long will _that_ take?” 

“‘Bout another minute. Can you get behind me? Pearl, Amethyst and Lapis should be here any second now with the rest of us and as soon as that ship arrives I’m gonna summon my shield.” 

Speak of the Gems and they shall appear. Not long after he says it does the warp pad activate, and the door to his house opens with a bang. The loud sound of dozens of Gems marching towards them makes Steven turn his head slightly. He gasps in shock. He knew the warp pad could fit a lot of people but he never expected it to be able to make only one trip possible. But apparently, every single uncorrupted Gem - and every Gem on their side - are making their way to the beach, weapons and magic out and wielded, ready to stand together and fight. 

Pearl, Amethyst and Lapis are at the front of the army. They gather their forces to surround the entirety of the Temple, then make their way over to him and Connie. Amethyst has quite the proud look on her face. 

“Hey, Ste-man. Looks like we’ve made it just in time for the party.” She says, pulling out a second whip from her gem. Beside her, Pearl straps her trident onto her spear and Lapis forms her fist-shaped water wings. Right next to him, Connie draws her sword. 

Bismuth and Garnet part for Peridot, who emerges from the machine with the trigger. Out of everyone here, she has the most important job. 

In the time it took for everyone to gather, the attacking ship had made its way to where they want it to be. Feeling the determined air surrounding everyone standing alongside him, Steven summons the biggest shield he can muster...just as the ship above them glows a threatening yellow, 

And Peridot slams her hand down on the trigger. 

  
  
  


In all the chaos that strikes in that single moment, Steven hasn’t a clue who fired first.

________________________________________________________________________

  
  


As it turns out, the machine _was_ an enhanced version of a Gem destabilizer. Only this time, instead of weakening a Gem’s physical form and poofing them, as Bismuth explained it, it messes with other Gem technology. Dampening its power and making it less useful. In this case, the ship the machine fired at no longer had any more weapons at its disposal. 

But that wasn’t the most important thing to think about at the moment. Apparently the rebel ship fired first - or perhaps their blast was faster - as suddenly his shield was taking the brunt of a _very_ powerful hit. Shockingly golden and bordering on white, it slammed into his shield with a powerful crash. 

He grit his teeth against the strain of such a powerful blow. Around him, his friends and family underneath his protection held his shield alongside him and in that moment he felt so much _emotion_. It may have been only the first wave, but he knew now that they could handle whatever this group threw at them. 

As Garnet said, as long as they guided each other. 

Still, the force of the opposing blow was so overwhelmingly strong, and his shield was only just barely managing to hold it off. He wondered, through the pressure, just how long the blast was supposed to hold out for. It must have been minutes since they fired and still it kept hitting. 

“Just how long will this thing last!?” One of the uncorrupted Gems yelled, voicing his thoughts. 

“Dunno - it’s been way too long - it should have stopped by now!” Amethyst yelled back. And as she said it, the beam became whiter in color and gave one final strong push, throwing them all back, so that the heavier Gems had to dig their feet into the ground for balance. 

Then, just as it became almost unbearable, it stopped. 

Completely spent from the force of that blast, Steven’s shield falls, and he as well. But Connie catches him around the middle just as his knees hit the sand. He shoots her an appreciative glance, then looks back ahead at their enemies. 

In the time it took for the blast to wear off, the rebel ship - too damaged by the machine’s attack - had landed in the sea, just far enough away that any big waves wouldn’t hit the beach. But as Steven’s shield was holding off their attack, the ship had made its way over to them and was now approaching the beach. 

From the top of the ship, emerged a pod. 

Steven watches as it opens, and as it floats down to the beach. Closer to them now, Steven can see the silhouettes of ten or so Gems inside the pod. It lands on the beach with a loud _thump_ , and around him, his friends and family ready themselves for the next wave. 

Steven pulls himself up and gets into a fighting stance. Now that he’s had a moment to breathe he easily summons another shield. He’s ready. Whatever comes out of that pod, he can handle. 

Then a tiny, light blue hand grabs hold of the wall of the pod, and an annoyingly familiar face turns to them with glee, and everything he just said gets shoved to the back of his mind.

_Oh geez. I knew she was going to be a part of this, but I never would have guessed she’d be the_ leader.

Aquamarine flies out of the pod, teardrop cheek gem and all, and lands on the beach in front of them with a wicked grin on her face. Behind her, Eyeball clambers out and runs to stand beside the floating blue Gem. After her emerges a Topaz, (he doesn’t know if she’s the one he’s met before. He hopes not) a square-haired Peridot, a white Sapphire, a tall pink Gem who could only be a Morganite, a Hessonite, Pyrope and Demantoid, a Jasper (but not his, thank the stars) and Holly Blue Agate. Unfortunately. 

They all gather around the still-flying Aquamarine, weapons out and crackling with power. They must be their own weapons, for them to still be working like that. But it’s then Steven notices two more Gems stepping out of the pod. Two blue, dress wearing Gems, with wings of water sprouting from their backs. Lapis Lazulis. Beside him, Lapis tenses, seeing her own Gem on the other side. 

Aquamarine faces them and starts her usual speech. 

“Oh, my, what do we have here? A whole _army_ full of unwanted Gems and disgusting pieces of rocks. What, you think the size of your forces will do anything to stop what _we_ have prepared? Ha! You wish!” She laughs, and turns to the Lapices. “Come on out now, you two. Let’s see where we’re at.” 

The enemy Lapices turn from the pod with a screen held in their hands. The one on the left with her hair in a ponytail looks over at Aquamarine and says, “We’re good, Aqua, it’s all set!” with a cheerful voice and makes her way with her twin to stand behind their team. 

In the center, Aquamarine smiles devilishly. “Perfect,” she says, drawing something from her gem. It’s shaped like her old baton, but colored a sickly off-white. When she aims it towards them, Steven widens his shield. But Aquamarine merely collects the screen the Lapices were holding with it. She turns to them with a happy expression. 

“Woah, there, Universe. I’m just gathering up my notes, that’s all. No need to get all aggressive. ” She smiles, and she may have a completely innocent look on her face but Steven knows after multiple run ins with her, to never trust that look at all. 

“Sure you are.” A tall Amethyst yells back. Aquamarine looks at their group with an unamused expression, and presses something on the screen. Behind her, her ship glows white, making Steven tense up. But then it releases a puff of smoke, and powers down. 

Underneath his rising emotions, Steven smiles triumphantly. Looks like the machine really did do its job. Behind him, Bismuth lets out a holler. 

“Wha- What is _this_ ?!” Aquamarine flounders, pressing a couple more buttons on her screen. When nothing happens still she rounds onto Steven with a look of outrage on her face. “That was supposed to strike your precious _city_ , not fizzle out of power! What did you do!?” 

“Oh, we totally messed with your ship,” Steven replied, smiling widely. “You’re welcome.” 

As he and his friends laugh, Aquamarine angrily turns back to her group. The Morganite readies her flame-covered scythe, and the Jasper dons her helmet, but one swipe of Aquamarine’s hand has them standing down. “Not yet.” She tells them. 

She turns back to Steven with a sigh of defeat. “Oh, well,” She says, putting her baton and her screen away. 

“We were _going_ to burn this stars-forsaken town to the ground first, but I guess we’ll just have to deal with just doing what we came here to do.” She looks to the Lapices. “Lapis, ready our... _weapon_.” 

“With pleasure, your Aquaness!” Ponytail-Lapis grins, and reaches with a fist towards the ship. Out from another pod, a deep yellow light blinks eerily. 

Steven narrows his eyes. Whatever this light is, he doesn’t recognize it. It doesn’t look Gem-made…

Around him, his friends are wondering the exact same. “What do you suppose that is?” One of the uncorrupted Gems asks another. She responds with a dull shrug and goes back to staring at the small army in front of her. 

“Now then. Peridot, if you will.” Aquamarine continues once the second pod reaches the beach. The square-haired Peridot - Steven’s calling her _Squaridot_ now - reaches with her limb enhancers towards the pod and types something into the screen next to the light. Once she’s done, the entire pod glows a marvelous yellow. 

Aquamarine turns back to Steven with her menacing smile back on her face. “I bet you all are wondering what that light was.” She says, clasping her hands together. Beside her, Eyeball laughs darkly and Morganite grins, her mouth full of sharp fangs. 

“Well, let me explain. This weapon right here will release countless amounts of poison straight into your planets’ core, with just the push of a button.” 

Everyone freezes. 

“It’s uniquely designed to attack both Gems _and_ Humans, so good luck for any of you at fighting it off. And I bet you all know by now what’s trapped inside the Earth’s core…

“The _Cluster_.” 

Beside Steven, Garnet growls darkly, and Steven can imagine that this was one flash of the future she was able to see. 

Aquamarine continues her speech. “And you all know what will happen when I release this poison into the Cluster, I presume? I gather it will only take seconds - maybe thirty - for your entire planet to be destroyed. How fun!” 

_This is_ not _what I had in mind for ‘unpredictable’_ Steven thought then, mind a raging inferno. _I_ knew _that they could have had anything planned but_ this _._

_This must have been how they wiped out all those_ other planets _._ He thinks then with rising horror. He stares at the dozen or so proud-looking Gems in front of him, at Aquamarine, with her triumphant expression already screaming, ‘I’ve won, haven’t I?” 

But she isn’t done. She turns to look straight at him and he can barely suppress a flinch when he sees the pure _malice_ in her gaze. 

“So if you don’t want to see your precious planet get destroyed like all the others we’ve already terminated, I’ll give you a deal.” 

That makes him pause. 

“Steven Universe, the ‘new Pink Diamond’,” Aquamarine says, her voice cutting into the cool evening air like a knife. “If you don’t want everyone you care about to _die_ , you will come with us to Homeworld and reinstate our old laws. Enough of this ‘Era 3’ nonsense. Come with us and reclaim Gemkind’s status as the most feared race in all the universe, and we will leave your planet untouched.

“Come with us, and we will never harm another planet ever again. But only if you do, and _only_ if you give us what we want. Now,” 

Aquamarine and the Gems standing beside her face him with mixed looks of smugness and eagerness and pleasure at the fear they must see in his and his friends’ eyes. And all Steven can feel is a cold horror in his chest. Not even Connie’s sudden hand atop his shoulder again - that he sees, not feels. 

They want him. They want him to bring back everything he and his family fought for centuries to fix. And if he doesn’t go…

They won’t ever get the chance. 

They’re all screaming; his friends and family. Yelling at the tyrants that threaten their home. No one breaks out into a fight though, which is odd. But it doesn’t matter. No one _will_ fight today because that’s not what their enemies are after. 

They’re after _him_ , and they’ll probably just take him if they do decide to blow up the planet. 

_“_ Go ahead. _Make your choice.”_

_...What choice do I have?_

  
  


“Steven, I know what you’re thinking!” Connie hisses in his ear. “You can’t - you promised me you’d _never_ do something like that again!” 

_It’s either me, or everything I care about._

_“_ Don’t do it, Steven!” Pearl yells, her blue eyes wide with fear. “Please, don’t! I can’t - I can’t lose you again!” 

_If I go with them, they’ll leave everyone alone. If I don’t…_

“Steven, are you seriously thinking what I _think_ you thinking!?” Amethyst cries. “Because if you are, I swear I’m gonna come over there and knock some sense into you! _You can’t go!_ ” 

_They’ll destroy everyone I love._

_It’s so much worse than_ last time _, isn’t this?_

Garnet is looking at him with so much _pain_ he almost bursts into tears right then and there. But somehow, he’s able to hold it all back. 

“Steven.” It’s all she says. It’s filled with so much emotion that she doesn’t need to say anything else. He knows she’s begging him to reconsider his choices. 

But as he looks ahead towards the shimmering yellow light, and the confident looks on his enemies faces, he knows his mind is already made up. 

This is worse than the first time. Worse than when he gave himself up to right a wrong his mother made. This time, it’s from something _he_ did. Era 3 was _his_ and this time, if he didn’t go with them, there will be nothing left for him at all. 

So much worse than last time. 

Aquamarine smiles such a sickeningly menacing smile when she sees him looking back at her next. Swallowing his mounting terror - and all his other emotions besides the resolve pounding in his veins - he takes a step. 

Someone grabs his wrist. 

He looks back. Lapis is holding him, her face turned down so he can’t see her eyes. But he knows she’s terrified. 

“Lapis,” He whispers. “Please let go.” 

“No.” 

“Please, I - I don’t want to either but I _have to_ -” 

“ _You don’t.”_

He takes a shaky breath. Lets it out, and bubbles himself. The force of his bubble activating knocks Lapis away. 

She gives him a look filled with so much shock and terror he quickly turns away. 

He takes another step. 

“No, _Steven_ .” It’s Bismuth this time. He doesn’t turn around. “ _Don’t you dare.”_

He’s edging closer now. A few more steps and he’ll be right in front of the enemy. 

“Are you really going to just _go along with them!?”_ Peridot screams then. It’s so sudden it makes him stop. 

“You all told me yesterday that my first plan was _cowardly_ and that it was foolish to go along with it. Well, then what’s this!? You can’t do this, Steven! It was you who told me I had to think of another option! A _better_ option! So there has to be a better one for you!” 

He’s shaking now. Hearing her words, he desperately wishes that that could happen. 

Too bad it can’t. 

_There’s no other way._ He tells himself. Blocking out the cries and shouts of his loved ones behind him. _Last time it was just me and my close family, this time it’s the entire planet. There’s no other way._

But still, he stops. His mind is screaming two very different things at him, and most of him only wants to think of one. But the other part _rages_ that Peridot’s words are true, and is begging him to listen. 

He stops, and Aquamarine gets impatient. 

“Oh, this is taking far too long. Peridot,” She calls. 

Squaridot raises a floating finger above the trigger of their weapon. 

“Let’s make this faster, shall we? Come with us _now_ , or this planet gets it.” 

And that’s the final draw. 

Steven takes the last few steps, his bubble breaks, and the shouts and screams of his family fall deaf upon his ears as Morganite takes his arm and hauls him into the pod. 

He doesn’t turn around. The pod closes behind his back and he doesn’t turn to his family as he goes with the enemy, and is taken away.

* * *

_June 6, 2015_

_4:35 p.m._

  
  


The ship is quiet. But maybe that’s because of the ringing in his ears. Heart pounding and stomach tight, there’s nothing stopping him from tumbling to the floor. The Gems gathered in the ship definitely don’t care. 

“Well, that was certainly easy.” Aquamarine states when his ears clear up. “All we had to do was threaten him, and we went with us no problem.” 

“ _Ha!_ I know, how _stupid_!” Eyeball responds. 

He lays there, curled up on the ground for a long moment, listening to his enemies’ victorious voices. The knot in his stomach tightens with each second. 

_So this is it, then. Off to Homeworld to redo laws I rewrote only two months ago._

“I can’t believe that actually worked, though!” Ponytail-Lapis chirped from her spot in the corner. “Our new Pink Diamond must be pretty dumb.” 

“I’m right here, you know.” Steven says, over the laughter that follows the Lapis’ statement. 

“Who was that?” The Jasper sneered then. “Oh no, I think a _pebble_ broke into our ship.” 

Steven sighs over the loud laughter that the Gems around him break into. He scoots closer to the edge of the ship, tries to get as far away from everyone as he can. Maybe over here, no one will bother him. 

“Steven Universe.” A low, grating voice says from beside him. He jumps, a yell just barely suppressed, and turns sharply to see White Sapphire looming over him, hands clasped against her chest. 

“Uh...Hi.” He says weakly. 

“Get up.” She tells him. 

He doesn’t have time to say anything to that, as she grabs his arm tightly again and hauls him to his feet. Standing now, heart definitely racing, he notices she’s taller than his Sapphire by two whole feet. 

“Come with me,” White Sapphire says, and he can’t do anything but follow her. It’s like his legs suddenly formed a mind of their own. 

She takes him to the back of the ship, where the entrance to the pods were, and places her hand on the side of the door. It glows white, and the door opens. She steps inside. On numb legs, so does he. 

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing with our prisoner!?” Jasper’s voice booms from outside the door. Steven turns to White Sapphire, heart in his throat, to see her open a pod. She looks at him, hair covering her eye(s?), which probably look expectant. 

She clears her throat. Beckons him to the pod. “Get in. _Now_.” She orders.

“Wh - But-” He turns back to the door, where it’s being pounded on by the others. Steven didn’t notice it before, but now he sees the area around the door glows a soft white. 

White Sapphire begins to sound impatient.

“ _Just go!”_

He’s all but shoved inside the pod, just as the white surrounding the door fades and it slams open. He only barely sees the furious face of Aquamarine staring daggers into his eyes, flying as fast as she can towards him, before the door to the pod closes, and it lifts off from its hold on the ship. 

He turns back to White Sapphire, breathing fast. She’s typing in coordinates onto the pod’s control screen. 

“Why did you…” He starts, but his voice falters. White Sapphire does not respond to him for another few moments. When she does, her voice is soft. 

“You are asking me why I rescued you from those Gems.” She states, and he blinks at her words. 

“Um...yeah. That was really kind of you.” Then he perks up. “Are you like some kind of spy sent to ruin the new rebels’ plans? Cause you sure did back there, I gotta hand it to ya-” 

“I’m no spy.” White Sapphire interrupts him. Steven closes his mouth, settling back down. White Sapphire continues on. “What I ‘did back there’ was not to save you, Steven Universe.” 

He feels himself tense up again. 

White Sapphire turns to him, her eye a glowing silver, emotionless and cold. “I did not save you, because you are wanted by someone else.” 

“... _what?”_ His voice is weak and comes out sounding strangled. Wanted by someone else? 

“Yes. I cannot explain who it is you are sought out by. Just know that they have been looking for you for quite some time now. This was just one of the many ways they could have obtained you.” 

White Sapphire turns back to the controls. “I suggest you get comfortable, Steven Universe. My leaders’ planet is further away than you’d expect.” 

Steven freezes. “Your...Your ‘leader’?” He says, staring at her, watching as the white energy from the door begins to surround her. A second later, and they are blasting into hyperspace. 

“Yes.” White Sapphire replies. “My new leader. They are very great. Much greater than my Diamond ever was.” 

He releases a shaky breath, clutching his shirt. Whoever it is that White Sapphire is talking about, are they more powerful than White Diamond? 

“And..And what does your leader...want me for?” Steven asks. 

“...You’ll find out.” White Sapphire replies, typing away at the controls. 

Steven leans back against the walls of the pod, clutching at his gem. The walls gradually feel smaller and smaller as the pod moves through space, and as he digests the weight of the knowledge this Sapphire has dumped upon him. 

He truly did walk into this one, didn’t he?

* * *

_June 6, 2015_

_9: 43 p.m._

  
  


He wakes up with a gasp. The pod feels like it just got slammed into something. 

“We’ve run into some meteorites. Good. That means we’re in the correct solar system.” White Sapphire speaks up. Steven groans and clutches his side. He must have fallen on it when the pod hit the meteor. 

He’d only been dozing off for around twenty minutes, and even still, he’s angry at himself that he did. Five hours of absolutely nothing besides this pod and the Gem that controlled it - he needed to stay on high alert. He needed to know where she was taking him. 

“We’re close, huh?” He says to her, but he doesn’t expect an answer. She stopped responding to him four hours ago, when he started asking more about her new leader and the people she now worked for. Apparently, she had already said enough. 

She surprised him then by responding. “Yes. I suggest you prepare yourself. The planet we will arrive at will be quite minacious.” 

_Minacious?_ He can’t remember what that word means off the top of his head, but it doesn’t matter.

He feels the mounting terror rise in him again, and quickly tamps it down. He can’t show fear. Not here, not now. Hold out long enough to subdue her, and her crazy energy powers, and he can get home. 

If home is still there. 

The pod slows. It seems as though they’ve reached their destination. Steven tries his hardest to swallow his fear, but it’s not really effective. He’s shaking so hard he could swear he’s shaking the pod as well. 

“This is it.” White Sapphire tells him. With one last push of a button, she rises out of the chair she had been sitting at for five hours, and walks over to him. 

“Stand up.” She orders. He does so on trembling legs. She approaches the door to the pod and presses a hand on the area that opens it. Immediately, the deadness of space filters into the pod. Startled, he only barely has time to summon his bubble. As soon as he does, it is surrounded by White Sapphire’s power. 

“This is planet Y’Doku.” White Sapphire says to him. “You will remain here for as long as my leader sees fit.” 

“I- _what?”_ Steven says, confused. 

“Yes. This is part one.” She replies, not explaining anything. 

“Wait, but I thought I was headed to your leaders’ planet! What - what do they want from me?!” 

“Many things. And you’ll see them soon enough, Steven Universe.” 

And with that, he is shoved from the pod, out into space. But he is not free from the pod quite yet. He’s still trapped in its orbit. 

White Sapphire leaps onto his bubble, and stares down at him with her cold silver eye. 

“Oh, and I forgot to mention, everything that Aquamarine said was a lie.” 

He sucked in a sharp breath. 

“She was never going to destroy your planet-” 

_What-_

“-She never even had a weapon like that to begin with.” White Sapphire continues, oblivious to his emotions - or perhaps simply uncaring. 

“ _You did this to yourself_.” 

  
  


And with that, White Sapphire releases her hold on his bubble, and he is sent hurtling towards the planet. 

He doesn’t even have time to scream. 

  
_TBC_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! Please leave all your thoughts, ideas and suggestions in the comments below! I love hearing your reviews!


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